Activities such as jogging, biking and walking undertaken at night or in a darkened area with limited visibility, require the participant to take sufficient precautions to insure he will be seen by the driver of a motor vehicle in order to avoid injury. With the increasing numbers of people who partake in outdoor activities at night, attempts have been made to provide items which will provide a degree of visibility which is not otherwise present. For example, reflective material has been used in the prior art such as thin, cloth bands variously attached at the wrist, ankle and head portions of the wearer. However, the resulting constructions of such prior art articles have been less than satisfactory in appearance as well as comfort and reliability. Oftentimes the material selected lacks absorbency or is difficult to work with. The reflective bands often are not properly applied to the article and thus are not as durable as is required for frequent use. Further, such prior art attempts have often yielded articles of wearing apparel which are lacking in aesthetic appeal and thus are not worn when needed to insure the safety of the night-time runner or biker.
Subsequent attempts to improve on such products have included the use of reflective yarn in the manufacture of an article of clothing. However, reflective yarn often lacks adequate candle-power capability for reflecting sufficient light rays to alert a motorist in time to avoid hitting the person who is wearing the article.
Other types of safety devices used at night to alert oncoming traffic to the presence of a person include the use of pedal reflectors on a bicycle. The combination of reflectivity and movement of the reflectors provides a motor vehicle operator a visible point of reference and thus a collision may be avoided. However, such devices are of no use to a runner or person walking in the dark or to a person whose bicycle is not equipped with pedal reflectors.
To date, there remains a need for a lightreflective article which is comfortable, durable, stylish and effective in providing increased night safety to the wearer when in close proximity with operating motor vehicles.